The present disclosure relates to an electro-photographic image forming apparatus, such as a copier, a printer, a facsimile machine, and a multifunction peripheral (MFP) equipped with functions of these apparatuses, and particularly relates to an image forming apparatus which has a photosensitive member and the like near a fixing section cooled.
Conventionally, in electro-photographic image forming apparatuses such as copiers, printers, and facsimile machines, a toner image is transferred onto a sheet while the sheet is being conveyed to a photosensitive drum, the toner image is fixed on the surface of the sheet by a fixing section, and then the sheet is discharged to the outside of the apparatus. Further, for jam (sheet jam) clearance, an openable/closable body rotatably supported with respect to a main body of the apparatus is openable to allow a sheet conveyance path from the photosensitive drum to the fixing portion to be open to the outside of the main body of the apparatus.
Here, when the openable/closable body is opened, there is a risk that a surface of the photosensitive drum may be exposed to the outside of the apparatus to be exposed to external light which may cause deterioration of the photosensitive layer. In addition, there is a risk that the surface of the photosensitive drum exposed to the outside may be soiled or damaged when it is touched by a human hand or an object.
To prevent these risks, in a known configuration, a drum cover is provided which moves, along with movement of an openable/closable body, to a position at which the drum cover covers a photosensitive drum and a position at which the drum cover is retracted from a sheet conveyance path. With this configuration, when the openable/closable body is closed, the drum cover is retracted from the sheet conveyance path to allow a toner image on a surface of the photosensitive drum to be transferred onto a sheet. When the openable/closable body is opened for jam clearance, the sheet conveyance path is opened, and at the same time, the drum cover covers the surface of the photosensitive drum that faces the outside of the apparatus main body, thereby preventing exposure of the surface of the photosensitive drum to the outside of the apparatus.
In another known configuration, there is provided a cooling section for reducing exposure of an image forming unit, including a photosensitive drum, a developing device, and so on, to high temperature caused by heat from a fixing device. In this configuration, when a drum cover for protecting a surface of the photosensitive drum is retracted, the drum cover is located in an air flow generated by the cooling section.